Declan Rice West Ham transfer future compared to Harry Kane situation
West Ham are pricing Declan Rice out of a summer transfer in the same way Tottenham did to Harry Kane last summer, according to Martin Samuel.
Rice has been linked with a nine-figure transfer away from London Stadium, with all of Chelsea, Manchester United and Man City interested in his services [Telegraph] in a saga that has rumbled on for the best part of two years.
However after a reported valuation of £100m last summer, David Moyes has claimed the price has gone up since then and Daily Mail journalist Samuel believes the Hammers are doing to Rice what Spurs did to Harry Kane last summer.
Kane asked to leave Tottenham, with Man City strongly linked with a move only for the north London club to demand £150m for the 28-year-old and put a stop to any potential move.
He ended up staying and struggled at the start of this season after having to overcome the disappointment, and West Ham are risking similar with Rice.
“Declan Rice isn’t worth £100million to West Ham — it’s probably in the region of double that.
“And there lies the problem. It’s a Harry Kane deal. Rice will want to go this summer, but what his suitors want to pay bears no relation to his value to his current club.
“It was the same with Kane at Tottenham. At his best, he took them to places they could not have reached with any other striker. Tottenham built a 60,000-capacity stadium; they contested a Champions League final; they were one of six English clubs invited to break away and form a European Super League. So Kane wasn’t worth £100m to Tottenham; it was more.
“Yet Tottenham were never going to get more, just as West Ham won’t for Rice.
“West Ham did not receive an offer, with their valuation at £100m, and now David Moyes says the price has gone up. Yet the circumstances are the same. Rice’s value to West Ham is greatly in excess of what would be deemed a fair price elsewhere.”
Pay up or shut up
Whether other teams think Declan Rice is worth what West Ham want for him, isn’t the club’s problem.
The point of a contract is for the selling club to be able to demand whatever fee they deem acceptable for a player another club wants to sign from their team.
In this instance, Rice just happens to be one of the best in the league at what he does and he’s going to be irreplaceable for the Hammers whenever he eventually leaves the club.
The Hammers have every right to demand a big fee in order to be able to replace him adequately and continue afterwards. They shouldn’t drop their fee just because another team doesn’t want to pay it.
West Ham are happy to keep him until his contract expires if he doesn’t want to re-sign and that’s the end of the story. Interested parties need to pay up or shut up now.
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